Philip Morris Profit Tops Estimates on Higher Prices

Philip Morris, which gets all of its revenue outside of the U.S., said favorable pricing changes added $406 million to sales, while cigarette shipment volume declined 4.4 percent. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

Net income in the three months through March fell 12
percent to $1.88 billion, or $1.18 a share, from $2.13 billion,
or $1.28, a year earlier, the New York-based maker of Marlboro
cigarettes said today in a statement. Excluding some items,
profit was $1.19 a share. The average of 12 analysts’ estimates
compiled by Bloomberg was $1.16.

Chief Executive Officer Andre Calantzopoulos has been
raising prices on the company’s cigarettes to help make up for
declining sales volumes. Philip Morris, which gets all of its
revenue outside of the U.S., said favorable pricing changes
added $406 million to sales, while cigarette shipment volume
declined 4.4 percent.